Category: Quotes
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I came across this quote by author Jeff Foster on his Facebook page. I’m including the entire passage below because it truly resonated with me & where I am in my life right now. It’s always good to remind yourself to keep things simple. I hope you will enjoy this wallpaper & use it as a reminder to yourself to live in the moment.

In the end, as in the beginning, there is nothing more spiritual than having a cup of tea.

We can talk about the absolute presence of the witness, the subjective objectivity of subjective conscious presence, the ecstasy of transcendental states, the pathless path to glorious enlightened futures, the spiritual realms with all their compelling promises of perfection.

But soon, we tire of the words, however beautiful, and we long for simplicity, realness, a truth that cannot be broken. We long for the moment, however paradoxical that sounds. We long for our ground, our home. Connection. To get out of our heads and into the Heart.

And so we are sitting with a friend in a café on a summer’s morning, kids screaming in all directions, the reflection of sunlight on a tea-stained spoon, and THIS, THIS is life. Not life as abstracted by thought, not life as spoken by well-intentioned gurus and philosophers, but life as lived first-hand, life as nothing more than immediacy and presence and wonder, life as a tea bag, life as a sleeping dog, life as the shattering of glass, kids wild at play, oblivious to the seriousness that approaches in time.

I once had a concept of the ‘spiritual’. I once sought enlightened states. I once had an idea that I, or anyone, was an authority. I once felt superior to sleeping dogs and broken glass.

I am now a tea bag.

– Jeff Foster

P.S. Yes, I drew that little cup of tea & I’m kind of proud of it. So, be nice.

Hello, everyone! I’m back & feeling inspired. We all know that the period of time after the holiday rush is a tough one. But, I’m trying my hardest to stay as positive as possible. I made this little desktop wallpaper for you to hopefully inspire you to keep going. Don’t give up, my friends. Even though it may see like the easiest thing to do. I know I’m not going to. Feel free to use it & share it!

One topic I’ve never really discussed on this blog is my life as an English teacher. Mostly because I’m afraid to say much because teachers have to make sure to keep private & personal lives separate. However, I’ve gotten a few questions about what it’s like to be a teacher, so I thought I’d touch on it a little bit. After all, it is a huge part of my life & who I have become over the past two & a half years.

I teach high school English to 10th, 11th, & 12th graders at a local charter school. Teaching is both an exhausting & exhilarating career choice. Those of you teachers out there know exactly what I’m talking about. Every day is different than the one before which I LOVE. However, it’s not glamorous nor is it easy. Yes, we get summers off but we fully make up for that with the amount of “over time” we put in planning, grading, & simply worrying about our students after school hours & over the weekend. I love my life & my students, but there are many days where I just want throw my hands up in the air & give up. As a young teacher, I especially feel that teaching must be a passion of yours. There’s some insane statistic that shows the percentage of new teachers that quit within the first five years is staggering. I don’t find that difficult to believe. It’s an emotional roller coaster that has caused me to put my head on my desk crying on multiple occasions. The truth of the matter: it’s really freaking hard being a teacher.

I come from a family of teachers. My mother was actually my elementary school principal growing up (you guessed it– I never got sent to the principal’s office). My sister is a second grade teacher. As a teenager & up until graduation, I wanted nothing to do with teaching. However, after dabbling with a more creative major (photography), I realized it was no use fighting what fate had clearly already set before me. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s one of the most fulfilling professions.

The students are the best part. They are the reason teachers stay. I’m not going to lie, I’ve come close to quitting before. However, I didn’t because of my students. It’s quite phenomenal how attached you can get to them. I work at a small charter school & am lucky enough to have a tight-knit group of kids that I get to really connect with. They are so freaking cool. I am continuously blown away by just how amazing they are. They’ve taught me so many things!

I know I’m leaving out so many things I want to say on this topic, but I will step off my proverbial soapbox & hope that I haven’t scared too many of you away! Don’t worry. I don’t plan on making this a teacher blog or anything from now on. I just wanted to share a slice of my life that I’ve been keeping to myself for a while now on this blog. Also, please let me know if any of you have any other questions about teacher. I’d love to talk with you about this topic!

Since I had the day off yesterday, today felt like such a Monday at work! Plus, it’s gloomy, cold, & rainy outside.
Needless to say, I need a bit of inspiration! And, what better place than the always wise Winnie the Pooh.
Always remember!

I’m spending the day recuperating from last night’s New Year festivities. Kevin & I didn’t do anything too crazy, but I’m an old lady & if I stay up past 1 am my body hates me. But, that’s another story for another time. I hope that you are all doing well & that you had a safe, wonderful time ringing in 2011 with people you genuinely like. I’d also like to share this lovely quote by Neil Gaiman. I think he expresses what I want to say much more eloquently than I ever could.

“I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you’ll make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.” – Neil Gaiman

Sometimes I get too stuck in my own head to see what’s really going on around me. Does anyone else feel this way? I kept repeating this phrase in my head today & I had to get it out somehow. So, I made this! I feel (a little) better now.

P.S. My first version had a few expletives in it. I opted for the “clean” version. Hah!